Synthesis and characterization of novel diimide–dinaphthols and resulting poly(urethane–imide)s

Novel diols containing imide groups were prepared via condensation of aromatic dianhydrides with 5‐amino‐1‐naphthol. The diimide–dinaphthols prepared were characterized by conventional methods and used to synthesize new poly(urethane–imide)s (PUIs). All the polymers were characterized and their physical properties, such as solubility, solution viscosity, thermal stability, and thermal behaviour were studied. The polymers obtained showed more thermal stability than typical polyurethanes because of the presence of the imide groups. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Operating Environment-Based Availability Importance Measures for Mining Equipment (Case Study: Sungun Copper Mine)

When a system’s performance is inadequate, the concept of availability importance can be used to improve it. The availability of an item depends on the combined aspects of its reliability and maintainability. In a system consisting of many subsystems, the availability of some subsystems is more important to system performance than others. The availability measure determines the priority of availability across subsystems. Most researchers only consider operation time and ignore the influence of the operating environment; therefore, their estimations are not accurate enough. In contrast to previous research, we focus on the influence of the operating environment on the system/subsystem’s characteristics with a view to prioritizing them based on the importance of availability. The paper considers part of the mining fleet system of Sungun copper mine, including the wagon drill, loader, bulldozer, and dump truck subsystems. We identify an ordered list of possibilities for availability improvement and suggest changes or remedial actions for each item to either reduce its failure rate or reduce the time required to repair it.     

Effects of microfabric on drillability of rocks

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Quantifying the rock microfabric is one of the most important research interests and challenges in the field of rock drilling and excavation....     

Eigenvalue assignment by minimal state-feedback gain in LTI multivariable systems

In this article, an improved method for eigenvalue assignment via state feedback in the linear time-invariant multivariable systems is proposed. This method is based on elementary similarity operations, and involves mainly utilisation of vector companion forms, and thus is very simple and easy to implement on a digital computer. In addition to the controllable systems, the proposed method can be applied for the stabilisable ones and also systems with linearly dependent inputs. Moreover, two types of state-feedback gain matrices can be achieved by this method: (1) the numerical one, which is unique, and (2) the parametric one, in which its parameters are determined in order to achieve a gain matrix with minimum Frobenius norm. The numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method.     

Novel thermally stable poly(ether imide ester)s from 2,6‐bis (4‐aminophenoxy) pyridine

2,6‐Bis (4‐aminophenoxy) pyridine was prepared via reaction of 4‐aminophenol with 2,6‐dichloropyridine in the presence of potassium carbonate in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP). This pyridine‐based ether diamine was reacted with two moles of trimellitic anhydride to synthesize related diimide‐diacid (DIDA). A high temperature solution polycondensation reaction of DIDA with different diols in the presence of triethylamine hydrochloride in dichlorobenzene resulted in different poly(ether imide ester)s. The monomer and polymers were fully characterized, and the physical and thermal properties of the polymers were studied. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 570–576, 2005     

Effect of methyl methacrylate content on coatings’ properties of palm oleic acid-based macromer

The macromer was synthesized using medium oil length oleic acid, phthalic anhydride, and glycerol. The synthesized macromer and methyl methacrylate (MMA) were copolymerized by free radical polymerization in toluene. The ratio between the macromer and MMA changed, and the effects on different properties of the copolymers, such as glass transition temperature (T _g) and film properties, were studied. The macromer and copolymer structures were characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR spectroscopies. The coatings prepared with the highest ratio of MMA exhibited better overall physico-chemical properties. Alternatively, Tafel polarization curves showed that the corrosion rate value in NaCl solution decreases significantly when the MMA content is increased. Dynamic mechanical analysis results revealed that the increasing amounts of MMA lead to increasing T _g values of copolymers.     

Normalised availability importance measures for complex systems

Once the performance characteristics of a system have been determined, engineers are often faced with the task of identifying the critical components. The objective of this identification is to prioritise improvements in the systems and the efforts to bring these about in the areas that will have the most effect on the system’s performance. Availability is an important metric, used to assess the performance of complex systems. Having the availability importance measure (AIM), which determines the importance of items regarding the availability of the system, can help designers and managers to improve performance and minimise the life cost of the system. This paper has developed an AIM for complex systems. Thereafter, the application of the developed importance measure is illustrated by a case study.     

Prediction of rotary drilling penetration rate in iron ore oxides using rock engineering system

Prediction of the drilling penetration rate is one of the important parameters in mining operations. This parameter has a direct impact on the mine planning and cost of mining operations. Generally, effective parameters on the penetration rate is divided into two classes: rock mass properties and specifications of the machine. The chemical components of intact rock have a direct effect in determining rock mechanical properties. Theses parameters usually have not been investigated in any research on the rock drillability. In this study, physical and mechanical properties of iron ore were studied based on the amount of magnetite percent. According to the results of the tests, the effective parameters on the penetration rate of the rotary drilling machines were divided into three classes: specifications of the machines, rock mass properties and chemical component of intact rock. Then, the rock drillability was studied using rock engineering systems. The results showed that feed, rotation, rock mass index and iron oxide percent have important effect on penetration rate. Then a quadratic equation with 0.896 determination coefficient has been obtained. Also, the results showed that chemical components can be described as new parameters in rotary drill penetration rate.     

Using 1H‐NMR spectroscopy for the kinetic study of the in situ solution free‐radical copolymerization of styrene and ethyl acrylate

The free‐radical copolymerization of styrene and ethyl acrylate in benzene‐d₆ as the solvent in the presence of benzoyl peroxide as an initiator at 70°C was studied by online ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy. The chemical composition of the copolymer at different reaction times was calculated from the conversion of the monomers to the copolymer, and then the reactivity ratios of styrene and ethyl acrylate were determined at both low and high conversions. Data for the overall monomer conversion versus the time were used to estimate the ratio k_pk_t^?0.5 for different compositions of the initial feed (k_p is the propagation rate constant, and k_t is the termination rate constant). k_pk increased with an increasing molar fraction of ethyl acrylate in the initial feed. The monomer mixture and copolymer compositions versus the overall monomer conversion were calculated with the data of ¹H‐NMR spectra. The incorporation of the styrene monomer into the copolymer structure was more favored than that of the ethyl acrylate monomer. Reducing the molar fraction of styrene in the initial feed intensified this. Drawing the molar fraction of styrene (or ethyl acrylate) in the copolymer chains versus that in the initial feed showed a tendency of the system toward random copolymerization. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007     

Synthesis and characterization of new soluble and thermostable polyimides via novel diisocyanates

A facile synthesis of two novel diisocyanates containing methylene groups and preformed imide structure is described. Furthermore, six thermally stable and soluble polyimides were synthesized by polycondensation of these two diisocyanates with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), 3, 3 ′,4, 4 ′‐benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and hexafluoroisopropylidene‐2,2‐bis‐(phthalic anhydride) (6FDA) in N,N ‐dimethyl acetamide. All monomers and polymers were characterized by conventional methods and their physical properties such as solution viscosity, solubility properties, thermal stability and thermal behaviour were studied. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry